“This is a happy day. Not only for the officers in this department, but also for the city.”
Roxboro Police Chief Jeff Insley spoke those words shortly after noon on a cold blustery day while standing on the porch of the new Roxboro Police Department, which was a moment away from being dedicated, in Uptown Roxboro.

The chilly crowd standing in Lamar Street for the ceremony included the vast majority of his officers.

“I can’t explain how excited I am,” Insley said following the brief outdoor portion of the ceremony. “The guys deserve it. I am proud of this building, and I am proud of them. They deserve this. This is a pretty special moment.”

Although the police department’s move into the 15,000-plus square foot facility at the corner of Lamar Street and Reams Avenue is not quite complete, the dedication ceremony went on as planned.

“Well, finally it is done,” said Roxboro Mayor Steve Joyner, who went on to call it “somewhat ironic” that the dedication was serving “as bookends on my service as mayor.”

Joyner has served as mayor for the past four years and will be officially replaced in the position on Tuesday, Dec. 11, by Tom Brown. Instead of seeking a third mayoral term, Joyner this year ran unsuccessfully for a seat on Roxboro City Council.

Joyner recalled the heated debate that took place four years ago regarding the site for the new police department building. It was the hot topic prior to the 2003 municipal elections. Many wanted the building constructed in the city parking lot across from the long-time headquarters on Gordon Street, while others preferred the site that was eventually chosen, where the Tom’s Auto Parts building once stood.

“The debate itself was important for our community,” Joyner said. “And, the outcome speaks for itself.”

Joyner went on to say that he hoped the police officers would be proud of their new facility.

“It is a symbol of the commitment we make to our police force,” Joyner said.

Former Roxboro Police Chief Terry Hill, who served as police chief from 1991 until 2004 before retiring with over 30 years of law enforcement service, was invited to speak during Tuesday’s ceremony. He said plans first began for the facility “somewhere around 2000.

“Good things come to people who wait,” Hill joked. “I am very happy to be here today to be a part of this.”

Hill said he had been quizzed on several occasions as to why the police department needed a facility nearly four times as big as the department was housed in.

“Why do we need bigger?” Hill asked. “It is because the officers improvised, improvised, improvised” at the Gordon Street station.

“Every place was thought out with common sense,” Hill said of the new facility. “We took each room and sat down and talked about them.

“What you see behind you is what we needed 20 years ago,” Hill added.

The new facility will not only serve as “a home” to Roxboro police officers, Hill continued, but will also serve as a “selling point on recruitment,” which Hill pointed out is “harder today than it has ever been.”

Insley said when he was hired four years ago this past August he was told by former City Manager Jim Freeman that he would be getting a new building.

“I didn’t realize it would take four years to get it, but we got it,” Insley quipped. “It is a great facility” and one the police officers “should be proud of.”

Insley, who has been in law enforcement for 21 years, said he had only owned two new cars and “and this is my first new police station.”

Addressing the members of his staff, Insley said, “I am proud to be your chief. We serve in a new world and have the awesome responsibility of protecting democracy.

“Your dedication to duty also should never be taken for granted,” Insley added. “We must be ever mindful that despite the dangers that exist in our society, we must protect the liberties afforded to our citizens as we are vigilant in our duties. I look forward to the challenges ahead and leading you into the future. Together we will continue to protect and serve the citizens of Roxboro.”

The police chief concluded, “T.S. Eliot wrote, to make an end is to make a beginning. Just so, the completion of the new Roxboro Police Department demonstrates community and local government support for law enforcement and our continued work to improve the quality of life in Roxboro.”